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The Music
Christmas. It is a word that brings to us many
meanings. One of which is the beautiful Christmas music that helps us
celebrate this wonderful time of year. And one of the most beautiful
ways to hear our favorite Christmas music is with a choir and
orchestra. In this SACD, Telarc brings together the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square, conducted by Craig Jessup.
If you haven't heard of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, they
are one of the most famous and well-loved choirs in the world. Former
Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush have referred to them as
"America's Choir" and "a national treasure",
respectively. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was formed in 1847, and its
current 345 members are volunteers as a service to the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. In contrast, the
Orchestra at Temple Square is a brand new orchestra formed in the summer of
1999, to function as a concert orchestra and as a volunteer orchestra to
complement the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The choir and orchestra are
both conducted by Dr. Craig Jessop.
To say that this album is wonderful would be a gross
understatement. The voices and instrumental music perform harmoniously
together in what are many new arrangements made specifically for this
recording. The list of tracks include familiar Christmas favorites
such as "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing", "Carol of the
Bells", "The First Noel", "What Child is This?",
"Joy to the World", and "Silent Night". For a complete
listing of all fifteen songs, see the track
listing in the left column. You can hear a sample of "The
First Noel" by downloading the MP3 file from the Telarc web site.
The choir voices are expressive, rich, and
mesmerizing. The orchestra's performance is equally sensational.
"A Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas" is
clearly a Christmas album that deserves to be in everyone's Christmas music
collection. I highly recommend it. I'm sure many of you will
cherish it for years to come.
The Recording
This recording is the twentieth-something seasonal
recording for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir since its first recording in
1945. In contrast, this is only the second recording for the
newly-formed Orchestra at Temple Square. This recording
was made in the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 8-9, 2000
directly to the Sony DSD
(Direct
Stream Digital) recorder by recording engineers Jack Renner and Michael
Bishop. Succinctly, Telarc again proves their expertise in recording
large choir and orchestral ensembles. The voice and instrumental music
come across with incredible realism and transparency. The choir vocals
and orchestra music were nicely integrated and balanced.
Though there are separate stereo and multi-channel DSD tracks, my review is principally based on the multi-channel DSD recording as it
is an overwhelmingly compelling and immersive experience. I felt as
though I was there, sitting in the best seat in the Mormon Tabernacle.
In the opening song, "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing", the choir,
orchestra, and organ meshed very well and effectively in the multi-channel
version. And this excellent mix and integration of the various
orchestral elements continue in all of the other songs.
The bells ring true in track #2, while the violins glisten in the
opening of track #4. Track #6 is a perfect recording of "The
First Noel", with excellent dynamics and texture in the chorus and good
balance in the orchestral elements. Then in the opening of track #7,
the flute and harp come across transparently in turn with the women's soft
choir voices. Throughout the album, the dynamic range and texture of
the choir and orchestra are nicely captured in this SACD. Telarc did another
wonderful job on the recording. Between the choir and orchestra's
wonderful performance and the immersive and transparent multi-channel SACD
recording, what we have here is a Christmas music masterpiece. Dare I
say, the recording is as perfect
and well-balanced as a snow flake. Merry Christmas and enjoy!
Disc Compatibility Notice
This Super
Audio CD (SACD) features a hybrid construction, with a layer for full audio CD compatibility and a layer for
high-resolution stereo DSD and multi-channel DSD recordings. The audio
CD layer can be played back on any audio CD player or CD-ROM drive, and will
have the sound quality like any other audio CD. To
hear the high-resolution stereo DSD recording, a stereo or multi-channel
SACD player is required with stereo analog output to a quality 2-channel
audio system. To hear the high-resolution multi-channel DSD recording,
a multi-channel capable SACD player is required with 5.1-channel (6-channel)
analog output to a multi-channel home theater audio/video receiver. The
high-resolution stereo or multi-channel DSD recording layer on this disc will not play in
an audio CD player, DVD-Video player, DVD-Audio player, or DVD-ROM drive.
Buy this SACD title from:
> Telarc for
$19.99
> Amazon.com
Support this site: buy through our links.
For additional information: visit the Telarc web
site. You can download a sample MP3
file of
"The First Noel" here.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony ES
SCD-C555ES Super Audio CD 5-disc
player, Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four
B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio
rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
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